WooCommerce is a free, open-source e-commerce plugin that turns a WordPress website into a fully featured online store. Because it runs on WordPress, it combines strong content and SEO capabilities with complete control over your store’s design, data and functionality.
How WooCommerce works
You install WooCommerce on a self-hosted WordPress site. It adds products, a cart, checkout, orders, customers and reports to the WordPress dashboard. Your theme controls the design, and extensions add features such as subscriptions, bookings or B2B pricing.
Key features
- Physical, digital, variable and grouped products
- Flexible shipping, tax and coupon settings
- Many payment gateways, including cards and digital wallets
- Customer accounts and order management
- Block-based cart and checkout
- REST API for integrations and headless builds
- Thousands of extensions for subscriptions, memberships, bookings, B2B and more
Pros and cons of WooCommerce
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free and open source | You manage hosting, updates and security |
| Full control over code and data | Performance depends on hosting and setup |
| Excellent for content and SEO | Many extensions can increase complexity |
| Huge ecosystem of developers and plugins | Premium extensions add ongoing costs |
When is WooCommerce the right choice?
- You already run your website on WordPress.
- Content marketing is central to how you sell.
- You want full ownership and flexibility.
- You have technical support in-house or through a partner.
Comparing platforms? Read Shopify vs. WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce.
What does WooCommerce cost?
The plugin is free, but you’ll pay for hosting, a domain, premium theme or design, extensions and maintenance. See our e-commerce development cost guide.
Getting started
- Choose quality managed WordPress/WooCommerce hosting.
- Install WordPress and WooCommerce, then run the setup wizard.
- Pick a fast, compatible theme.
- Add products, shipping, tax and payments.
- Add only essential extensions.
- Test checkout thoroughly before launch.
Moving from another platform? See how to migrate from PrestaShop to WooCommerce. New to WordPress? Read what WordPress is and how to use it.
How Scadea helps
Scadea designs, builds, integrates and maintains WooCommerce stores, including custom themes, ERP integrations, subscriptions and migrations. Read how to choose a WordPress development company.
Building a WooCommerce store? Talk to Scadea’s e-commerce team.
